Xerophagy of Life
by heartsn'minds
Summary: AU. Sansa weds Joffrey and bears for him two children. Along the way, she learns the art of subtle manipulation which she believes is more incentive than anything else. The arrival of Robb and the Mother of Dragons sparks war in Westeros, leading Sansa to a decision fit for a Stark.


When Sansa weds Joffrey, she watches with passive shame as her dreams of seeing her mother again flicker into small embers and her hope of returning to Winterfell resting solely on Robb's victory. She wishes so very dearly that Joffrey would be kind to her because she finds that if she tries hard enough, she can force her mind into shifting his face from sneer to smile.

He puts the heavy cloak upon her shoulders and Sansa can only think of the heat from Joffrey's mouth as he kisses her - forcefully so - whilst his spider fingers tangle in her hair. She will do her best, she then vows, to be a gracious queen and never allow the people to see the monster that is their king. Everyone needs hope, Sansa realizes, and she would be as terrible as Joffrey if she were to shake this hope away from King's Landing, all for her own selfish vindication.

* * *

When the time for the bedding ceremony arrives, Sansa is grateful that she has a few moments alone so that she may pray to the gods. She prays Joffrey will be gentle, she prays he will not hurt her; she prays he will not treat her as he so treated the prostitutes that were his Uncle Tyrion's name day gift. These prayers are said in vain, Sansa knows, because Joffrey might very well hurt her just for spite; just to show that he is nothing like what she imagined and that he delights in reminding her constantly.

He stumbles in after Sansa has said her last prayer and from the sweetness of his breath to the gentle flutter of his fingers, Sansa realizes that he is drunk. They do the dance that has no age and Sansa comes to the realization that only when drunk is Joffrey tolerable; only when he is drunk does Joffrey relinquish control and takes Sansa's mind away from her body. She finds her breath hitching and her legs urging him closer; she finds he takes no delight in purposely bruising her for pain but she spurs on his bite marks for _pleasure_.

She cannot fathom what has come over her except, when drunk, Joffrey is the prince she once believed him to be.

Sansa thinks she may be able to survive King's Landing if Joffrey takes after his mother in her love for spirits.

Cersei had always been religiously devoted to the gods of ivy.

* * *

Time passes by and Sansa finds her bruises have lessened and the harsh words spoken to her have decreased in volume. She has taken a delight in soothing and entertaining her ladies of the court and that her heart is best filled when she sees the people on the streets. Sansa sees how they cheer for her when guards announce that it was the Queen of Westeros who has granted out bread to the poor.

She later convinces Joffrey - when he is drunk - to make love to her and then sign a document which allocates new positions for the unemployed to take. When Joffrey is later sober and sees this, he does not beat Sansa.

He tells her she is clever for thinking of this and then promptly announces to the court that this idea is one of his own invention. Sansa is not upset with this fact.

After all, she has escaped another beating.

* * *

When five moons have passed, Sansa finds herself pregnant with Joffrey's child. As much as Sansa wants to deny what Cersei has said, she cannot. For she loves this unborn child with all her heart and she finds that will - buried deep inside of her - to live for the sake of her baby. She vows that she will not allow her son or daughter to endure what she has endured and she swears, by all the gods old and new, that she will fall into Joffrey's favor. She will do anything for the sake of the children.

Thus, Sansa begins to talk to him of practical manners; she swallows her disgust and indulges his cruelty to an extent. She slowly weans him off the wine and manages to convince him - with praise and kisses and sweetness of manner - to help the common people and aid his allies throughout Westeros. She escapes beatings by quickly rebuking herself; by declaring her father a traitor amongst traitors and by praying for his victory against Robb. These things soothe Joffrey's jealous soul and soon, he comes to lightly joke with his wife and kiss the swell of her stomach.

But Sansa is not blind.

She can see the disappointed gazes directed at her from Tyrion and the Hound; she can see the smug look of satisfaction upon Cersei's face and the glee of Tywin Lannister when he finally sees his grandson beginning to act like a king.

But Sansa Stark will not apologize for doing whatever she can to secure her child's future happiness.

* * *

When nine moons bend the gossamer fabric of time, Sansa delivers to Joffrey a healthy baby boy. He possesses golden hair and is fair of skin but has Sansa's eyes of blue. Cersei is displeased with the small Tully attribute but Joffrey is boastful of his new son's health and of his Lannister looks.

Sansa asks if the child can be named Aloysius - an ancient Northern name that has long since gone out of fashion. Joffrey agrees because Aloysius rings of Southern tune but forces Sansa to formalize their son's title as Prince Aloysius Lannister Baratheon, First of His Name.

She complies because she remembers there are Lannister's in shades of gray as well.

Later, Joffrey holds a grand tournament for his newborn and employs the poor of King's Landing to serve and wait upon him. He earns the people's favor.

* * *

Aloysius celebrates his third name day just as news reaches King's Landing; news that Robb Stark's armies have left the North to head to the capital.

_Winter is coming._

* * *

As war preparations begin, Sansa sees less and less of her husband. While her soul sings with joy at having been freed from his presence, a small part of her heart is resentful that he is no longer there to kiss her before they fall into slumber. She supposes after so many years of living with Joffrey, of fathering his child, that she feels some concern for him - despite his manic behavior.

She keeps herself busy with her son; always, she looks after her son.

Sansa sends Aloysius to train with soldiers as soon as he shows promise in the art of swordsmanship. She will not have her boy helpless against enemy lines and she _will _make sure he knows how to defend himself, even if she has to pick up a blade and teach him herself. Sansa realizes her little son's potential in literature, philosophy, and mathematics just as quickly as his tutor does. So Sansa brings in the most intellectual of men from all around Westeros to educate her saving grace.

Aloysius will not fall to ignorance and helplessness as she did, Sansa vows. He will learn to play the chessboard of politics so deftly and skillfully that he will be able to anticipate another man's moves before even they realize what ploy they will put into action. Sansa vows on her gentle father's grave that her son will know how to play the game of thrones.

* * *

Sansa begins to walk by corners and doorways and darkened parts of the castle more and more often, hoping to catch pieces and snippets of information. Joffrey does not wish to burden his queen with such news because Sansa is now pregnant once more. She finds that whenever she is in pregnancy, Joffrey allows her more berth; he is gentler to her than he usually is and for that Sansa is grateful. So long as she is able to keep his interest peaked in topics of war, treason, swordplay, and far off tales spun into history, violence, and are tinged with the harmony of Joffrey's own humor, _she is safe_.

Aloysius also begins to eat up more and more of the king's time. He is so impressed with his son's knowledge and skill that he takes the young prince with him to Small Council meetings and matters of state.

Sansa coaxes Aloysius to tell her what he has heard and when she learns that the Kingslayer has been captured, she feels the seeds of hope beginning to sow in her heart.

She may be able to return to Winterfell again.

(At night, when Joffrey kisses her and brushes his hands over the roundness of her stomach, she pretends there is no war and that Joffrey is always like this and that she has married her golden prince. When dawn breaks, Sansa wishes for the war to go away.)

* * *

The days drip by as honey does in winter, and Sansa learns that Robb has married a Frey of the Crossing and that he now plans on overtaking the Westerlands. He hopes of meeting the Mother of Dragons and Sansa prays and prays and prays that Robb will be safe.

Strangely enough, Sansa has also begun to include Joffrey in her nightly prayers and instructs Aloysius to also pray to the gods for his father's victory in this war.

"Will father fight the Northerners, mother?"

Sansa smooths her skirt. "Yes he will, dear heart. But we must pray for his majesty's safety and for his swift return home."

"Should we pray for those in Winterfell as well?"

"Why should we, my love?" Sansa's posture is rigid.

"Because you're a Northerner and I am a Northerner and our family is there, right mother?"

She shushes her boy and brushes away unshed tears from her eyes. "Hush now," she instructs, "we must never speak those words aloud. King's Landing is where we both belong."

"Mother?"

"Yes, dear love?"

"Have you ever seen winter?"

Sansa shakes her head. "No my heart, I was born in the long summer, as was my sister and my brother."

Aloysius smiles. "Will winter never come to King's Landing?"

The red-haired royal smoothes down her son's unruly golden curls. "No, my love. Summer is always nigh here."

* * *

Sansa gives birth to Prince Adriel on the same day that war formally breaks out in Maidenpool. The Small Council quickly convenes and everyone realizes the bleak truth of it all - winter has come.

From the South, Daenerys and her dragons approach faster and faster; the Northern alliance grows with each day and Joffrey finds that his position as king has also become one of protector and general. He follows his Uncle Jaime (freed from capture by the Queen of the Vale) out to battle and returns home with exhaustion, dust, and wounds coating his once unblemished skin. His very first scar is a scar atop his heart, curved and jagged and so hideously marring that Joffrey is ashamed to show it to his queen.

For the first time in years, Joffrey raises a hand to her and beats her cheek blue. Sansa, however, has grown accustomed to regaling him back and so with only a few kisses and whispered words does Joffrey fall to his knees and kiss her stomach. He tells her his worries and then coldly rejects her; she holds him still until he finally begets his fears to her and she falls asleep with them in her heart. When they awake, she tells him to wear his scars proudly to show the people of King's Landing that their ruler is made of courage and bravery. That he will take the blows of the enemies so as to spare the people the swing of the aggressor's sword.

Her words are so gentle and caressing and placid that Joffrey puts them in a speech and announces it to all of Westeros.

"That king who sits on the Iron Throne isn't stupid," a man from Robb Stark's army says thoughtfully when he hears the king's word. "Perhaps we've got more a war to fight then we've thought."

It's only when reports of Robb Stark aligning with Daenerys Targaryen do the people of the court begin to prepare for the worst. Tyrion Lannister warns Sansa that she may be the only one in King's Landing who is spared.

Sansa, meanwhile, only looks into the chest of truths she has buried in her heart at night. It is then that she realizes she wishes for Joffrey's company in Winterfell as well.

* * *

King's Landing burns with the flames of the dragons and when Sansa has stopped being afraid, she takes Aloysius and Adriel by the hand and shows them the beauty of the beasts. It is also during this time that she sees the courage the Lannister's have so proudly boasted of finally be acted upon.

Jamie Lannister dies protecting the king, something his sworn oath has forced him to do. He has no regrets when he takes on the armies and swears his allegiance to King Joffrey Baratheon. When the smoke clears, all that is left of the Kingslayer is a hand of gold and a word of honor to his sworn sovereign.

Tyrion Lannister throws everything aside and saves as many men as he possibly can. He smuggles them in ships and sends them across the Narrow Sea because he knows that these innocents - simply brought up in court - will be killed by their enemy in an act fueled by spite and hatred.

When Robb Stark breaches through the Red Keep, Joffrey himself unsheathes his sword and duels the brother Sansa so loves. She sits upon the Iron Throne, Aloysius to her right and Adriel to her left, as she holds her breath; she cannot hope for the death of either because the last of her soul will die with Robb and the broken pieces of heart will wilt with Joffrey. Instead, Sansa settles on ordering the Kingsguard close and soothing the shrieks of the women. It is only when Robb manages to cut open Joffrey's armor does Sansa allow a choked gasp to escape her lips.

She cannot see her husband die. She _will not _allow her children to see their father fall.

She cries out for Joffrey to rise and stuns Robb with her words; she holds Aloysius and Adriel close until Joffrey rises once more. But by then, Robb has seen what has transgressed and he offers Joffrey a trial of justice in exchange for his queen and the two young princes.

Sansa half expects Joffrey to answer for her but when he kneels before his queen and allows her to make judgement, Sansa realizes she has touched Joffrey more deeply than she ever thought possible.

With her held high, she informs Robb Stark of the North that she loves him only as a sister could love a brother but that as Queen of Westeros, she will stand trial with her husband.

* * *

The Throne Room is fraught with tension as King Ageon Targaryen sits on the Iron Throne, his sister Daenerys to his right and King Robb Stark of the North to his left. Former King Joffrey and Queen Sansa stand before them, Princes Aloysius and Adriel by their side.

When Ageon announces they are guilty of their crimes, Sansa evokes one last plea to Robb, asking him to raise her children as he would his own. From the corner of her eye, she sees Jon Snow ready to step forward and claim the boys after Robb's hesitance and in her heart she prays the gods to forgive her for every cruel thing she has ever borne towards her half brother.

But Robb agrees, after a pause, hand extended and the promise slipping past his lips. Sansa kneels down before her children and kisses them both without embarrassment.

"You are all three, my sons," she whispers, "you are a stag, you are a lion, but you are also a _wolf_."

Joffrey can only hold his wife's hand as Aloysius and Adriel Baratheon are led away by Ser Jorah, whose eyes are kept on the ground. Aloysius says a phrase in Latin, Adriel waves goodbye to his parents, his childish innocence breaking Sansa's heart.

"Joffrey of House Baratheon and Sansa, daughter of Eddard of House Stark, you are hereby sentenced to die as criminals of war in opposition to our most sovereign King Ageon Targaryen, First of His Name."

Sansa can see the glassy eyes of Robb and the realization slowly dawning upon the countenance of her eldest son.

"Is this goodbye, my queen?" Joffrey murmurs in Sansa's ear.

Sansa squeezes Joffrey's hand. "No," she says, "this is a reprieve for what is to come."

* * *

So the King and Queen of Westeros perish, side by side from the executioner's sword. They are buried in King's Landing because Ageon will not allow Robb to carry his sister's body up North - she is too beloved, he says, she will strike up rebellions and stir the simmering hatred of the poor. Because at the end of it all, King Joffrey and Queen Sansa were beloved; they improved the lives of those impoverished and they gave a life of lightened hope unto those whose slumber was above the gallows of pitiful death.

Legends are then spread about the king and his queen, some true and others false, but all jumbled with the mystique of what they were. They talk of blonde hair and cruel eyes, of dragons and wolves. They talk of gentle queens and poisoned wine and maidens of blue and White Walkers beyond a wall. The true story of the wolf who tamed a lion remains embroidered in a secret tapestry hidden away somewhere by someone whose life has been lived long over.

So they will all continue to talk, of the king and the queen, of the dragons and the wars. They will speak of the bloodshed and the tears and lives lost. They will speak of the game of thrones.

* * *

**A/N: Obviously Sansa suffers from some serious Stockholm Syndrome here but it's interesting to see where an abused mind can go to find shelter and what strength she can pull from herself to survive in the world she's adapted into. **

**I wrote this a while ago and decided to post it up because the second chapter of 'Peccadillo' isn't coming out as smoothly as I had hoped (wrote 3 drafts of it, guys). Hope this will placate you until that second chapter comes along!**

**Review. **


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